Invest in Fragment Media

Fragment Media Group is reimagining media by building a reader-first ecosystem in a world where trust in journalism is broken. 

Most digital media today makes the majority — and usually all — of its money from advertisers, which means the needs of journalism and the needs of the business are frequently at odds. At Fragment, we are building a majority reader-driven revenue model — because that’s the best possible foundation for trustworthy journalism. 

Fragment has built publications that have cracked the top 3% of news sites U.S., reaching as many as 80 million users per month across all channels, 1,100,000 free subscribers, and more than 20,000 paying members every month. From science to pop culture to social media and the climate crisis, our portfolio delivers in-depth coverage and engaging features, positioning us to tap into the 145 million U.S. adults who are willing to pay for premium content.

Led by a stellar team from Columbia University, University of Pennsylvania, The Atlantic, VICE, Vox, and Gawker with a track record of growing media tech companies to acquisition, we’re not just growing — we’re creating a movement. Join us in building the future of journalism, where readers are owners and trust is our currency.

Since founding, we've built some of the fastest growing, most spectacular news sites on the internet. We’ve been named a top 20 fastest-growing media platforms according to the Inc 5000 for two years in a row in 2022 and 2023. We've driven as much as $16 million in annual revenue — and our new model aims to reach even higher heights.

With a unique business model centered on premium subscriptions and sponsor content that adds value, Fragment Media Group has cracked the code for building a publishing empire around readers, and we’re just getting started. 

With the advent of digital media over 30 years ago, readers largely stopped paying for news and publishers grew entirely dependent on advertisers.

The ad-driven business model, powered by easy access to personal data from platforms like Google and Facebook, has led to clickbait-driven, superficial, sensationalized content — eroding trust in journalism​​​​.

Resources for original news gathering have therefore shrunk dramatically while fostering widespread dissatisfaction among audiences who feel betrayed by news media and social platforms.

Readers are left with a choice between watered-down mass-market publications or sifting through the mountains of low-quality content on the internet to find voices they can trust. 

With 56% of U.S. adults reporting that they are willing to or already are paying for online news, publishers are blinded by easy ad dollars and are neglecting a massive opportunity to cater to this demand. 

At Fragment, we put readers first, creating a future where quality journalism thrives, trust is restored, and media finally serves its true purpose: informing and enlightening its audience.  

Each title in our portfolio is dedicated to a specific, passionate audience. This targeted and diversified approach enables us to recruit deeply knowledgeable journalists who craft intentional, highly engaging content that resonates with readers in ways ad-driven outlets — like BuzzFeed and USA Today — cannot match.

Unlike publications forced to chase clicks and dilute their coverage at the expense of depth, we remain focused on serving our core communities without compromise. In turn, readers migrate to Fragment from other outlets, get hooked on our content, and stay longer.

Our go-to-market strategy is to establish a beachhead through a newsletter in a specific niche and use ad and sponsorship dollars to fund profitable expansion while growing our subscriber base and product offering.

Free subscribers generate ad revenue as we build an engaged audience, while premium subscribers generate reader revenue through paid memberships.

The model scales profitably with 85% gross profits, an LTV to CAC ratio of 5 and growing, and a low 3.3% churn rate among premium members – below the industry average of 3.6%.

While Fragment is passionately reader-first, advertisers play a complementary role in our ecosystem. We carefully select advertising partners who align with our content niches and co-create campaigns that add value to our audiences.

One standout partnership is with luxury watchmaker Omega. The storied brand has supported numerous reader-focused initiatives, including as one of the many sponsors at our showcase at the Frost Museum of Science at Art Basel in Miami, which featured a symposium and art exhibition inspired by ocean research.

By aligning the goals of our readers, sponsors, and publications, we create a mutually beneficial ecosystem that delivers value across the board.

Veterans of top-tier publishers, our team has deep expertise in journalism, media technology, and reader-driven business models.

Our CEO’s unwavering passion for authentic media stems from his earliest childhood memories, growing up as a 6th generation journalist in a family that dates back to the founding of the Associated Press. 

By scaling two powerful revenue streams—paid subscriptions and value-adding advertising — Fragment is uniquely positioned to capture a meaningful segment of a $56B media landscape.

A $17B subscription news market is rapidly emerging in today’s digital media landscape. With 22% of U.S. adults already paying for news and another 34% reporting a willingness to pay, the total potential audience for paid content in the U.S. is 145 million adults with an average annual subscription amount of $120.

Source: Reuters Digital News Report 2024

In addition to the growing subscription market, Fragment is targeting indirect revenue from brands at the intersection of the $30B U.S. market for native advertising outside of social media, as well as the $9B U.S. brand sponsorships market to co-develop intentional, value-adding content, events, and products that align with our readers’ interests. 

Our goal is to make reader-generated revenue Fragment’s primary revenue driver.

2022 was a breakout year for programmatic advertising - the old model we’re moving away from, primarily driven by traffic to the Daily Dot. However, we were still dependent on programmatic ads.

Concerned about the long-term viability of that model, we reinvested the profits in building our subscription product and accumulating a loyal reader base while still generating substantial sponsorship revenue.

This year confirmed our concerns — platforms are too unpredictable, and programmatic ads no longer serve us. So, we’re accelerating our shift toward a more sustainable, reader-driven model

In 2024, our focus turned to learning how to effectively and efficiently grow both free and premium subscribers for Nautilus, our prestige science title with the strongest initial foundation in reader revenue. A few months ago, we reached an inflection point whereby both free and premium subscriber growth for Nautilus is accelerating.  

We’ve successfully scaled Nautilus to become the leading science publication online with the largest free subscriber base in record time. As subscriber growth compounds over time, revenue growth follows. 

At established growth and conversion rates, Nautilus could be a $90 million-business in 5 years with an estimated 220K new free subscribers and 14K new premium subscribers per month.

We expect this acceleration to continue and for a similar pattern to kick-in across all of our current titles by 2026.

In the coming years, our growth will also come from more publications, more subscribers per publication, higher average subscription revenue, and larger strategic sponsorship deals combined with new revenue streams in events, merchandise, and licensing. 

The media industry is ripe with M&A activity, and high valuations are achievable for new and legacy brands alike. Our business blends the most successful elements of traditional publishers and recurring revenue models. 

While we can’t predict the future, we see several avenues for creating shareholder value such a sale, strategic acquisitions, or an IPO to provide growth capital as we scale a profitable, capital efficient media model that has long evaded established and upstart competitors alike.

As a reader-centric company, we’ve always been passionate about aligning the interests of our audiences, editors, journalists, and partners. We generate money primarily from our readers, and that means we work for you – not advertisers.

Now, we’re taking that commitment to the next level by becoming reader-owned — and inviting you to join Fragment as an investor.

This is a rare opportunity to be among the first investors in a rapidly growing publisher with the ambition and potential to rival The New York Times in scale and revenue.

In addition to potential financial returns, you can become part of a revolution that places trust and depth at the heart of journalism. 

Together, we can redefine what it means to deliver media content that truly serves its audience. Join the movement today, and own the media that works for you.